Blog

Our special events are always casual, fun, and full of detailed information. They are explorations of every aspect of Highland Green (HG), and the bringing together of terrific people. Past events like Highland Green Make Financial Sense, The Complete Highland Green Experience, Highland Green Rocks! and Spectacular Block Party have been informative to all, and life changing for some. You can view full hours of footage and info on our extensive Our Videos page. Come join us for another great one…the HG Home & Garden Experience. Learn about how Highland Green works, lower-maintenance living that protects your time and value, plus self-expression through personal and community gardening activities. You will get a full feel of Read More

I sent two of my more erudite foodie friends some Moxie soda to try and asked them to send me their impressions of the flavor. Predictably, the reviews were mixed. One of them raved about it: “An understated sweetness with soft notes of cardamom and smooth undertones of vanilla which give way to a pleasantly lingering birch bark finish.” The other was not so kind: “Like a combination of cough medicine and syrup of ipecac.” So there you have it. People either love or hate Moxie. Among the first mass produced soft drinks, Moxie was created in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1876 by Union, Maine native Dr. Augustin Thompson. He claimed Read More

Every region of the country has its favorite hot dogs. Each version can be a nostalgic comfort food for the denizens of the area. When I lived in New York City, standing on a busy corner wolfing down a couple of Sabrett “dirty water dogs” from a cart with mustard and kraut was a rite of passage. Nathan’s Famous is overrated in my opinion. I think Gray’s Papaya on 72nd and Amsterdam are the best in NYC and live up to their tagline “Better than Filet Mignon”, though I’d get a vehement argument from those who prefer rival Papaya King. But I am from Maine. And bright neon red hot Read More

Once again, teams of HG residents took top honors in all categories at the Scrabble Fest tournament held in Augusta. Two squads swept the competitive division and social division at the April event that benefited Literacy Volunteers. Cy and Gail Kendrick won the competitive division while Nancy Johnson, Rick Diamond, George Heilig and Ruth McCrea prevailed in the social division. The HG sides were rewarded with a supply of whoopie pies for besting ten other teams and the contest raised nearly $3,000 for the charity. Nancy Johnson moved here from San Diego, California in 2016 after retiring from a global insurance brokerage. Originally from Massachusetts, she has enjoyed getting accustomed Read More

Our special events are always casual, fun, and full of detailed information. They are explorations of every aspect of Highland Green (HG), and the bringing together of terrific people. Past events like Highland Green Make Financial Sense, The Complete Highland Green Experience, and Highland Green Rocks! have been informative to all, and life changing for some. You can view full hours of footage and info on our extensive Our Videos page. Come join us for another great one! Spectacular HG Block Party Friday, May 12, 2017 | 11:00 am – 3:00 pm 11:00 am HG Overview and info at the HG Community Center Noon Meet the Neighbors at Happy Talk Rock 12:30 Read More

I’ve been collecting devils most of my life. For over 40 years I have been accumulating Underwood Deviled Ham brand logo items. There’s no way to know for sure but I’m reasonably certain that I own the largest assortment of Underwood ephemera on the planet. It all started when as a small child I would ask my mother to cut out the little red devil emblem from the paper wrappers around the cans of the beloved (by some) ham spread. Over the years I’ve gathered everything from 19th century Underwood advertisements to original art people have created for me. The William Underwood Company was founded in 1822 in Boston, Massachusetts. Read More

Nearly every morning I drive or walk by a non-descript office building on my way to (ironically) Lifestyle Fitness Center off Route One in Scarborough. If I close my eyes as I pass I can almost smell the intoxicating aroma of Maine potatoes frying. This is the former site of the iconic Humpty Dumpty snack foods factory. A while back our Real Italians Are Only Found in Maine blog post elicited many feelings. One commenter posted: “That sandwich would go well with a dill pickle and some Cape Cod chips.” Blasphemy! No hard feelings, but one either gets it or one does not. First, the iconic Maine Italian sandwich comes Read More

There were the Northern Lights, chocolate lighthouses, an anchor crest, life saver rings, rope piping, sand dollars, and even a realistic nautical map showing Peaks Island. I could not have asked for anything more. Recently I put together a surprise birthday 40th party for my little sister Molly who lives and works in Boston. I reserved Brain Boru Public House in Portland (my “local” for the last 24 years), hired a DJ, arranged food, and managed to get RSVP’s from nearly 70 friends and family from Maine to New York City. When it came to the cake I decided to hire Dannielle Allen, Executive Chef of the Wild Duck Restaurant Read More

Of all of our HG Lifestyle Blog Posts, Real Italians Are Only Found in Maine from about a year ago was arguably the most popular. It evoked equal parts joy, reminiscence, consternation, comment and debate. I don’t know we can say it “went viral” but we certainly saw a huge jump in web activity. Our analytics tell us we normally have between 2,500 and 3,000 unique users of our website per month. In the three day period surrounding the original posting of the Real Italians blog alone we had 56,000 unique users on our site. Its posting on Facebook reached over 24,000 people. We are introducing a new series of Read More

You’re sitting on a classic screened porch looking out over a view of evergreen, birch and maple. To your left you can see a knob of moss covered Maine granite. You can cross your flat yard and walk over that outcropping and begin to explore miles of well-maintained nature trails. You are in your very own idyllic natural world. And yet you are smack dab in the middle of a friendly neighborhood within the convenience, security, and neighborly ambience of Highland Green. You are connected to a solid infrastructure of public water and sewer, underground electric, and piped-in natural gas, even though you are over a mile from a main Read More

Having lived in San Diego, California for 25 years George Heilig and Nancy Johnson wanted to relocate to the Northeast. Searching online they found Highland Green and the rest, as they say, is history. In 2014 they signed an agreement with us to create their new home in what at the time was our yet-to-be-built Basswood neighborhood. They were attracted to HG over any other place for familiar reasons that have drawn people here from 29 different states and counting. Lower-maintenance living; free standing custom-built homes; the integration of conservation and nature; a location convenient to services and travel; and a dynamic neighborly ambience were important factors for them. But Read More

1 Kestrel Drive is nicknamed Spectacular not just for its dramatic spaces and elevated feel inside. It is also outstandingly tucked at the end of Kestrel Drive in the Sparrow neighborhood at HG, and is available for resale. Consisting of Sparrow, Warbler and Kestrel Drives, the Sparrow neighborhood will be complete in 2017 as Wimberley and Kathy from Haverhill, Massachusetts have their new HG home built on the last remaining lot. Turning onto Sparrow Drive from the main HG loop of Evergreen Circle, one is greeted by dramatic rock outcroppings. Starting down the grand wooded sweep of road one may be struck by the sense that the area is part Read More

Is it conceivable for a home to be virtually hidden in plain sight? If it is possible, then that might describe this bright Highland Green home available for resale and immediate occupancy. Living at HG can be the perfect combination of a hospitable community setting and solitude. The ability to be around new friends with similar interests is enhanced by custom-built free standing homes. Secluded living spaces and private views can belie neighborhood surroundings. This particular home named Refreshing exemplifies these combinations. Refreshing is located on the dead-end cul-de-sac of Chickadee Drive, one of most friendly streets within HG. Its original owner was a land surveyor who picked this singular Read More

“May the days ahead be sprinkled with good luck, focus, hard work, humor, whimsy, and… enough chaos to keep things interesting…” This sentiment written to us by soon-to-be HG resident Linda from North Carolina pretty much sums up our jobs here. We deal with contracts, financial reports, governing documents, advertising deadlines, construction, banking, and all sorts of other detailed stuff. But the most important part is connecting current HG residents with their future neighbors and friends for the first time. January 21st was a magical day at HG. It was a day of team building, community building, making friends and having fun. HG Marketing and Construction team members, current residents, Read More

2016 was a sensational year at Highland Green and 2017, 2018, 2019 and beyond promise to be even more so. Construction of custom homes rolls on throughout the winter and well into the future as scores of active adults from around the nation continue to flock each year to the Northeast’s premier 55+ lifestyle community. We have major development projects planned for the future. Hundreds of HG stories in our Lifestyle newsletters and our Lifestyle Blog are available on our website along with hours of video. But just a simple review of our various associated logos provides insightful snippets of ongoing, recent and future exciting happenings here. In 2016 we Read More